BAGHDAD (AFP) - A senior ally of radical Iraqi cleric Moqtada al-Sadr warned that thousands of the planned 21,500 extra US troops en route for the war-torn nation would "go home in coffins."

Launching a new strategy to rescue        Iraq from civil war, Washington told the government of Prime Minister Nuri al-Maliki, who owes his job to Sadr, it was on "borrowed time" and declared new "no holds barred" military operations.

A cornerstone of the new approach is increased pressure on Iraq's neighbours        Iran and        Syria -- which are accused by Washington of fomenting unrest -- and tougher action to deal with militias such as Sadr's feared Mahdi Army.

"The American people have to prevent their sons from coming to Iraq or they may return in coffins," threatened Sheikh Abdel Razzaq al-Nadawi, a senior official in Sadr's movement, slamming the planned US troop increase.

http://news.yahoo.com/s/afp/20070112/wl_mideast_afp/iraq

obviously the Iranians didn't appreciate the raid at Irbil and the Shiites are turning from US tactiacal allies into enemies...

heck of a job, Dubya